Cristobal Alert: Due to the impending approach of Cristobal, Southeastern employees scheduled to work on campus Monday should plan to work remotely instead. Those employees previously identified as essential should report to work as directed by their supervisors. Please continue to check this site for any updates.

NEWS & MEDIA

Southeastern designated a Military Friendly School for eighth time

HAMMOND – For the eighth consecutive year, Southeastern Louisiana University
has been named a Military Friendly® School for 2020-2021. Viqtory Media, publisher of “G.I. Jobs,” states the listing honors the top colleges,
universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace the nation’s military
service members, veterans, and spouses as students and to ensure their success on
campus. “Southeastern’s consistent listing shows our continued commitment to serve active
military, veterans and their families,” said President John L. Crain. “As always,
we are proud to receive this recognition, as it places us among some of the top universities
in the nation, but more importantly we know it means we are doing our best to serve
those who have made many sacrifices in service to our nation.” Southeastern enrolls over 528 veteran and military service members. The university
maintains a Veterans Upward Bound program; has an Office of Veterans Affairs that
assists students in obtaining benefits and with other issues; provides academic and
other counseling services; offers scholarships specifically for military students
and veterans; and maintains a wide range of online and distance learning programs
that provide students with flexibility in scheduling. Southeastern’s ROTC program, which is a sub-unit of the Southern University Army
ROTC program, returned to Hammond in 2016 after more than a 20-year hiatus. Fifty-five
students now participate in the program. Southeastern now serves as a resource center for thousands of Louisiana veterans
in an effort to help active-duty military service men and women successfully transition
to college through a new program called LaVetCorps. Additionally, Southeastern recently launched the Office of Military and Veteran
Success. The new office includes two college employees, a LAVetCorps employee and
six veteran ambassadors. The center offers help with academic advising related to
VA education benefits, processing VA education benefits, counseling on VA education
benefits, programs, events, and priority registration. “Southeastern has made a concerted effort in the past several years to focus
on military service members, veterans and their families,” said Director of Military
and Veteran Success Matt Watkins, a U.S. Air Force Veteran. “Southeastern has created
innovative programming, services, events and resources for our veterans, dependents
and military population. All of our staff members feel there is no greater calling
than serving those who have served us.” Another recent addition to campus is the Southeastern Student Veterans and Military
Interest Association, a group open to veterans, reservists, spouses, dependents, and
ROTC participants attending both Southeastern and Northshore Technical Community College.
The association was founded to help the school administration better understand and
meet the needs of veterans; offer advice from experienced to incoming veterans; help
civilians better understand the military experience; and provide opportunities for
veterans to meet one another and connect. Institutions competed for inclusion on the Military Friendly Schools list based
on such categories as military support on campus, graduation and employment outcomes
and career and job counseling services. The firm Ernst and Young independently tested
the data provided by schools. The 2020 list of Military Friendly Schools shows the commitment of those institutions
in providing a supportive environment for military students, the company said in announcing
the list. Viqtory Media is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business founded in
2001. In addition to “G.I. Jobs,” the company also publishes the magazine “Military
Spouse.”

Submit a Story

Have a story idea for Southeastern's website? Send your contact information, a brief
description and available photos to outreach@southeastern.edu. We will contact you if we decide to use your story idea.